The Halloween Party
by moonbean
Summary: Jackie drags Rose and the Doctor along to a Halloween party. Will it get them to admit how they feel? Well, yes, but only after Rose has been put in danger first. One shot.


**A/N: I'm sorry! This just popped into my head and I had to write it down, but the next chaper of Living A Life is almost finished and will be up soon!**

**Disclaimer: If I owned it, would I be on here? Seriously?**

* * *

For once the Powell Estate was relatively quiet. The local boys, who had gotten bored of continuously kicking their football against the heavily graffitied walls, had long since abandoned the estate for the local park, and the only person to be seen was a little old lady pushing her way inside one of the blocks of flats. When she was gone, the only sound was from the leaves dancing gently in the warm October breeze. Unseasonably warm, given that November was literally just around the corner. 

All of a sudden the leaves started to gather speed, whirling about like tiny tornados and rustling angrily, as if in protest to the abrupt disturbance to their gentle autumnal ballet. A heavy rasping sound filled the air, a blue shape wheezing into existence, its light flashing importantly on top, although nobody noticed it. The outline of an old Police Public Call Box eventually became a solid form, and the unearthly groaning sound – some say it's the sound of the universe – faded away through the late afternoon air.

The door of the police box was abruptly pulled open, and a young blonde woman stepped out, her hair shining like gold in the low sunshine. A huge smile on her face, she starts to skip towards Bucknall House before a tall man wearing a pinstriped suit steps out after her and calls her back. He looks at her sternly for a moment, pulling the door of the call box closed behind him before breaking into a huge grin and taking the blonde girl's hand. She slaps him playfully on the arm and then leans into him slightly as they walk, the both of them chattering happily as they enter the building.

xxxx

"Rose!" Jackie Tyler launched herself at her daughter and pulled her into a crushing hug, knocking the breath from her.

Rose carefully extracted herself from her mother's grasp and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Has it been that long?"

"Two months!" Jackie exclaimed. "That's long enough." Catching the eye of the Doctor, who was unsuccessfully trying to loiter unseen in the hallway, Jackie bounded over to him and pulled him into the same death grip as she had given Rose, ignoring his protests as she showered his face with kisses.

"Mum, leave him alone!" Rose said, although the look on her face betrayed her seriousness. She smiled as the Doctor straightened himself out and he shot her his best 'hurt little boy' look.

Jackie made her way into the kitchen. "I'll just go and make some tea. You two sit down. I've got lots to tell you!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes as Rose grabbed his arm and pulled him into the living room, sinking down into the sofa and sighing dramatically when she let go of him.

"Just humour her," Rose said as she sat next to him.

"Humour her? Last time I did that I thought she was going to slap me again."

"Yeah, well, there's a difference between humouring her and making fun of her," Rose replied, leaning back and putting her feet up on the coffee table. She yawned. "God, I'm tired. Can you get jet-lag from travelling in the TARDIS?"

The Doctor shrugged. "Trying to escape a horde of angry villagers who are waving flaming sticks at you is bound to tire you out."

Rose shot him a disgruntled look. "They wouldn't have been chasing us in the first place if you hadn't insulted the Elder. How many times have I told you to watch that mouth of yours?"

They sat there in silence for a moment, until the Doctor turned to Rose and grinned at her. "Was fun though, wasn't it?"

"Oh, yes. Although, I could have done without being prodded with sticks," she said, unconsciously rubbing her arm.

The Doctor squirmed slightly. "At least you didn't get prodded in the bum," he grumbled, causing Rose to smirk and bite her lip.

Jackie entered the room then, carrying a tray of tea and biscuits. "You were lucky. I'd just out the kettle on before you came in. Here you go," she said, placing the tray on the coffee table before slapping at Rose's legs. "Legs off," she said. "Honestly Doctor, you're giving her bad habits."

"That's not the only thing I've been giving her," he said without thinking.

Rose stared wide-eyed at him and Jackie's mouth dropped open.

"Oh, no!" the Doctor said, suddenly realising how that had sounded. "No, no, no. That's not what I meant!" His cheeks flushed slightly as he flapped, and Rose giggled. Handle anything the Doctor could; except her mother.

Jackie glared at him for a second, before breaking out into a smile at the look of sheer terror on his face. "Just be grateful you're cute," she said, sitting down in one of the armchairs.

The Doctor winked at her and leant forward to pick up his tea.

"So," Rose said, in-between dipping a ginger-nut biscuit into her mug and then popping it in her mouth. "What did you want to tell us?"

"Oh! Well, Darren from the garage is -"

"What happened to Howard?" the Doctor butted in.

Jackie blinked at him. "I haven't been with him for months."

"Shame, all that fruit. He was very healthy."

"Anyway," Jackie continued, shaking her head, "Darren is taking me to this Halloween party that his mate's organised, and now that you're here I thought maybe you two could join us," she said enthusiastically. "It's fancy dress, but I'm sure that won't be a problem what with that big wardrobe you've got in the TARDIS and… What?" she said, noticing the rather distasteful look on the Doctor's face.

"I was with you until you said 'fancy dress,' he said.

"What's wrong with fancy dress? It's fun. Darren and I are going as Frankenstein and his Bride."

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but Rose, knowing he was about to say something that her mother would take offence to, discreetly kicked him in the shin. He frowned at her and closed his mouth.

Just then the phone rang, and Jackie went off into the kitchen to answer it.

"Rose," the Doctor moaned. "Do we have to? If you want a good Halloween party then I can take you to Reglon 5. And the best thing is we wouldn't even need costumes!"

Rose looked at him with big eyes and gave him the smile which she knew he couldn't resist. He sighed.

"Oh, fine. Just don't expect me to put on a gorilla costume."

Rose beamed.

xxxx

Some time later, and after much protesting on the Doctor's part, Rose had managed to drag him back to the TARDIS to look for suitable costumes. Jackie had been talking about how Darren was going to take her up West to see The Phantom of the Opera and after the Doctor had foolishly told her that he had a replica phantom mask, she had insisted that he and Rose go as the Phantom and Christine.

The Doctor huffed as he rooted through the wardrobe, trying to find the things he needed. Tux, frock coat, fedora, cloak, mask – it all soon became heaped in a messy pile on one of the chairs. He eyed it sulkily for a moment before undressing slowly and pulling on the offending items. However, once he was dressed and after posing for a long while in front of the mirror, the Doctor decided that maybe the whole fancy dress idea wasn't such a bad thing after all, and he swept off towards the control room to wait for Rose.

xxxx

"Doctor?"

The Doctor looked up from where he was sitting on the battered old captain's chair, eyes flitting towards the sound of Rose's voice. She peeked round the doorframe, and he could just make out a brown wig of tumbling curls on her head.

"Wow! You look great!" she said, eyeing the Doctor's costume.

The Doctor grinned. "Of course I do." He stared at her intently. "Well, come on then. Let's see yours."

Rose pulled back from the doorframe slightly. "Don't laugh," she warned. "I'm not sure if it's quite right." With that, she took a deep breath and stepped into the control room. The Doctor's jaw dropped.

"Ta-da!" Rose said, slightly unsure of herself. "Will I do?"

The Doctor fought to regain his composure. "You look beautiful – just like her."

Rose blushed. "Thank you."

It was true, she did look rather lovely. Stunning, in fact. The wig looked almost real, the curls tumbling delicately around her face and she was wearing a beautiful ivory gown. It was long and floaty, made with organza and lace. The full skirt swished around her legs as she walked towards the Doctor, and it was then that he noticed that she had her arm over the front part of the dress, holding it up to cover her modesty. Her cheeks became tinged with pink again as she spoke.

"Could you lace me in?" she asked, rather coyly. "I couldn't manage on my own."

"Of course!" the Doctor said with a smile when his mouth had finally caught up with his brain.

Rose went and held the back of the chair for support as the Doctor came up behind her and started to lace the corset. He tried his best not to notice the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra and he found himself fumbling when he tried to rush, the ribbons becoming tangled round his fingers.

"Okay?" Rose asked, very aware of his hands brushing against her bare skin.

"Yeah," he said, coughing as his voice caught in his throat. "Just got the ribbons a bit twisted. Nearly done now." He gave the ties a final yank as he reached the bottom, and then tied them into a bow. "They you are," he said, trying not to sound like he had been in anyway flustered.

"Thanks. Right, well we'd better get going before mum cops a strop at how long we've been." She smiled and grabbed her purse before walking towards the door.

The Doctor followed her, breathing a sigh of relief as the tension in the air started to dissipate.

xxxx

"Oh, sweetheart! You look gorgeous," Jackie stated as Rose and the Doctor re-entered the flat. "And look at you all handsome, even with that mask covering half your face," she said to the Doctor, who was looking very afraid that she might start covering him in kisses again.

"Not so bad yourself mum," Rose said as she checked out her mother's Bride of Frankenstein costume. She had a black wig on and what looked to be some sort of 1980's style wedding dress. Her face was painted a sallow white and her lips were black, a hint of purple blush on her cheeks.

Jackie ushered them both into the living room, where a well built man dressed in a Frankenstein costume instantly stood up from where he was sitting on the sofa.

"Darren, this is my daughter Rose and her friend John."

The Doctor smiled at that and extended his hand to Darren. "Nice to meet you."

"And you," Darren said, returning the smile. He took Rose's hand. "Lovely to meet you at last darlin'. You're as pretty as your mother says you are. Told me all about you two she has. Travelling all over the world – you must of seen some incredible things."

"You wouldn't believe it," Rose said, shaking her head and smiling.

The Doctor glanced sideways at her and grinned.

"Right then, Jackie love. We should get going," Darren said, walking forward and taking Jackie's arm.

"Where is this party?" Rose asked as they left the flat, hugging her arms as the night air made her shiver. The Doctor graciously took off his cloak and placed it round her shoulders. "Thanks," she said appreciatively.

"A mate of mine's hired a hall up the road. Done it out all proper. I was in there helping him earlier. It looks great."

It certainly did, the Doctor thought when they arrived. The hall was covered in cotton cobwebs and orange and black steamers. Pumpkins filled every available space and plastic spiders and bats clung to walls and tables. A skeleton stood by one of the buffet tables, a bowl in each of his hands which held peeled grapes masquerading as eyeballs and something that was supposed to look like worms. Gravestones made out of card were standing along the edges of the walls and fake blood oozed out of an equally fake hand that was resting on a small shelf.

"Not yours, is it?" Rose asked cheekily.

The Doctor poked her in the arm and grinned. Rose gave him his cloak back and the four of them made their way through the dancing crowd and dry ice towards the bar.

"What's your poison, Johnny Boy?" Darren asked, slapping the Doctor on the shoulder.

He pulled a face only Rose could see, making her giggle. He eyed the selection of drinks behind the bar. "Pint of Stella, thanks."

"I've never seen you drink beer before," Rose whispered, leaning into him.

The Doctor shrugged. "Not my first time."

"Ooh, get a couple of bottles of wine as well," Jackie said as she leaned over the counter to get a better look.

Minutes later they were sat at a table, wine corked and flowing freely, mostly in Jackie's direction. The Doctor sipped at his beer and then had to stifle a laugh as a girl who had been staring at him got grabbed from behind by a zombie, making her jump ten foot in the air.

"Jackie!" a woman dressed as a nurse suddenly screeched, bouncing over and plonking herself down at the table.

"Hiya Bev. Look whose back," Jackie said, nodding towards Rose and the Doctor.

"Hello you two! How you've been? Haven't seen you since last Christmas. Still travelling are ya?"

"Yep. Just thought we'd pop back for a visit. Who you here with then?" Rose said, indicating to a man who was giving Bev flirtatious looks across the room.

Bev giggled. "That's Dom. He's a sailor!"

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"You wanna be careful with them sailors," Darren warned, "all that flitting they do between women."

"Oh, not my Dom," Bev sighed dreamily. "He said I'm his 'one and only'."

"One and only after half of London," the Doctor mumbled after giving Dom the once over, causing Darren to laugh loudly into his pint glass. Thankfully, Bev hadn't heard him, but Rose had and she kicked him under the table for his trouble.

"Ow!"

Rose smiled sweetly.

Dom, who was dressed like an extra from the Rocky Horror Show, came over then, casually giving Rose the once over as he stood with his arm draped over Bev. The Doctor saw this and glared at him.

"Everyone, this is Dom. Dom, this is my best friend Jackie, her boyfriend Darren, her daughter Rose and Rose's friend John."

"Evenin' all." He pulled Bev up from her chair and twirled her round. "Another dance?"

"Yes, Sir," she giggled, before being swept away into the throng of people, not noticing the lingering look Dom gave Rose over his shoulder.

Rose noticed this time and turned away from him, only to be met with the death look the Doctor was sending into Dom's back.

Rose discreetly put her hand on his knee, bringing his attention back to her. His face softened and he gave her a small smile. She returned it, before topping up her wine glass and downing the whole thing in one go.

"That's my girl," Jackie giggled, already over half way through her bottle.

"So, John. What do you do when you're not travelling?"

"I'm a doctor," the Doctor said, somewhat matter-of-factly.

Rose smirked. Well, he could hardly say he travelled through time and space in a blue box, fighting to protect the universe from deadly alien forces and the like.

"A doctor, ay? Which hospital did you work at? 'Cause my sister's a nurse and maybe she knows you."

"Nah., I'm not a medical doctor, more a doctor of science in general. Although I could perform a bypass if I had to." He smiled at the confused look on Darren's face. "So, you work at the garage, then?" he said brightly.

"Just as a mechanic," Darren sniffed. "Nothing as fancy as what you do."

"Oh, I don't know. People will always need mechanics, who'd fix their cars for them otherwise? It's a very noble job to have."

Darren perked up at that, and Jackie smiled at the Doctor gratefully.

The music that had been playing faded out, the theme from 'Ghostbusters' taking over, making people whoop and start jumping about like maniacs.

"Come on you," Jackie said as she grabbed Darren's arm and dragged him off to the dance floor.

"You okay?" Rose said to the Doctor.

He grinned at her, finishing the last of his beer and pouring himself a glass of wine. He refilled Rose's glass for her and he motioned for her to pick it up, chinking his against it when she did so.

"I'm actually have a rather good time," he said, seemingly surprised at himself that he was. "Darren seems nice."

"Yeah. Let's hope mum manages to hold on to this one."

An hour later, Jackie and Darren danced their way back over to the table to find Rose giggling hysterically at something the Doctor had said. Jackie eyed the additional empty wines bottle on the table.

"Are you trying to get my daughter drunk?" she asked the Doctor, sitting down on Darren's lap.

"No!" he scoffed, and then laughed as he got caught up in Rose's fit of hysterics.

"Are _you_ drunk?"

The Doctor shook his head. "Nope. I don't get drunk."

"Oh, come of it," Jackie said.

"It's true," Darren said, defending him. "Men like us don't get drunk, ain't that right John?"

The Doctor grinned, pulling off his mask and fedora. His grin fell when the 'Time Warp' came on and Rose tugged on his sleeve, insisting that he should be good at this particular dance.

"Ha ha," he said sarcastically. "I'm not dancing to the 'Time Warp.'"

Rose pouted at him. "Please?"

"Nope."

"I'll dance with you sweetheart," Jackie said, getting up.

"Good, good. Leaves us to have a manly chat over some more beers," Darren said.

Rose caught the Doctor's eye as her mother pulled her away and frowned at him. He looked at her awkwardly and told himself he'd make it up to her later. Darren went of to get the drinks, leaving him to watch Rose dance, a smile creeping over his face as he saw that both her and Jackie knew every word to the song.

Jackie came back after the song had finished, but Rose stayed on the dance floor. The Doctor looked a little upset at that, but he engrossed himself in the conversation he was having and left her to have fun. It wasn't until some time later that he looked up again and saw that Rose wasn't anywhere to be seen. He excused himself, and went off to search for her, becoming panicked when he couldn't find her as easily as he'd hope. He wandered over to the door of the toilets, catching a woman on the arm as she came out and asking if there was a blonde girl in there.

"Sorry," the woman replied, "there was just me."

The Doctor sighed and made his way back over to the table, only to find Bev crying hysterically.

"I can't find him," she sobbed into Jackie's shoulder. "We were having a really good time and then he said he was going to get a drink and he never came back! I tried to ring and he cut me off!"

The Doctor squeezed his eyes shut as a feeling of dread ran through him, his mind working furiously.

"What's wrong?" Jackie asked when he opened his eyes again, looking at him in concern.

"Rose is gone," was all he said, and he fled towards the entrance of the hall. "Rose!" he shouted out when he got outside. No answer. "Rose!" The car park was silent, save for a few trick or treaters ambling passed, clearly high on too much sugar. The Doctor ran round the side of the building, the pit in his stomach aching more and more every second. Then he spotted a flash of movement between two wheelie bins at the far end. A bit closer, and he was sure he heard the sound of a woman struggling. He ran as fast as he could, anger flashing through his eyes as he saw Dom pushing a woman up roughly against the wall, a woman who was trying to scream but had rough lips assaulting hers too forcefully for much sound to come out.

It was Rose.

_His _Rose.

The Doctor flew forwards in a rage, grabbing Dom from behind and causing him to yelp in surprise. He spun him round and grabbed him by his collar, throwing him up against the wall, his fists pushing into Dom's throat.

Dom tried to fight him off, but the Doctor was a lot stronger than he looked. Little did Dom know that when the Doctor was angry, he was the most terrifying being in the universe.

"You _ever_ come anywhere near her again…" he threatened, watching Dom with a sick satisfaction as he struggled to breathe, "I'll make you wish you'd never been born." His voice was low and dangerous.

"Doctor," Rose cried out, tearful and shaken, just as Jackie, Darren, Bev and Darren's friend Chris rounded the corner. Her mother ran to her, pulling her into her arms.

The Doctor went to pull away from Dom, thinking that the man would just run off. However, just as he turned to go to Rose he heard the words "We'll finish this later, Rosie." He flew at Dom again, yelling angrily and throwing a fist into his face. Dom stumbled backwards before lunging at the Doctor, smacking him across the face and splitting his lip.

The Doctor heard Rose screaming for them to stop, but he was too blinded by his fury and his duty to protect Rose to pay any attention to it.

Darren and Chris ran to pull the two men apart as the Doctor knocked Dom to the ground and jumped at him, his hands going round his neck. Darren had a job to pull him off, but eventually he managed it as Chris pulled Dom out of the Doctor's death grip.

The Doctor breathed heavily, wiping a hand across his bloodied mouth as Darren tried to calm him down.

Rose ran to him, tears streaming down her face. When he saw her, his face softened and he pulled her into his arms.

"Are you okay?" he whispered close to her ear. He felt her nod against him, clutching to him for dear life.

"Dom, how could you?!" Bev shrieked her face red with anger.

Dom laughed. "You really think I want some dried up old slapper like you when I can have this little beauty here?" he winked at Rose, sending the Doctor over the edge again. He ran forward, Rose trying desperately to hold him back.

"He's not worth it! Please, please don't," she pleaded with him.

He calmed slightly, watching as Chris got hold of Dom and dragged him away.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said, hugging her to him again. Jackie came over and put her arms around the both of them.

"Come on, we'd better get that cleaned up," she said of the Doctor's cut lip.

Rose, as much as she didn't want to, pulled away from the comfort of the Doctor's arms to go and see to Bev. She escorted her away, followed by Darren who was keeping a close eye on them.

The Doctor went to follow, but Jackie held him back.

"Darren will look after them. You and I need to talk."

For a moment the Doctor thought Jackie was going to shout at him. Instead, she reached up and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you for looking after my Rose."

He looked to the ground. "If I was looking after her properly this wouldn't have happened in the first place."

Jackie sighed. She knew he'd do this. "Doctor, you've always done exactly what I asked of you. That was to protect Rose. Even I know you can't watch a person 24/7. But you were doing more than just protecting her, weren't you? How you spoke to him – the look on your face. You might think I'm just some stupid human –"

"Jackie…"

"- but I can tell the difference between someone protecting a friend and someone protecting the person they love."

The Doctor didn't say anything, just stared down at the floor.

"It's okay," Jackie encouraged. "I'll admit that when I first met you, if I'd have known then, I would have hit the roof. But now I know you, and I know what you do for Rose – for all of us – and really, you're not so different after all. And I know Rose feels the same just by the way she looks at you. And you know what? Nothing would make me happier. All a mother wants for her daughter is for her to be loved and protected. You've proved you can do that countless times. I trust you with her life, and I'll protect the both of you until the day I die."

The Doctor looked up at Jackie, gave her a weak smile and pulled her into a hug. She accepted gladly.

"Thank you," he said.

"Come on, sweetheart. Let's get you inside."

xxxx

"Ouch!" the Doctor hissed.

"Don't be such a baby," Jackie scolded, although she was smiling.

She finished cleaning up his cut just as Rose and Darren walked back in.

"We put Bev in a taxi. Thought it was best if she went home. How's the patient?" Rose asked, settling herself down next to the Doctor.

"Bleeding's stopped. He'll live," Jackie said, ruffling his hair.

"Never mind me," the Doctor said, turning to Rose. He took her hands and gave her a soft smile. "Home."

Rose shook her head defiantly. "No. He's not going to spoil our night. We're here to have fun, and fun is what we shall have."

The Doctor broke out into a grin. "No stopping you, is there," he stated.

"Nope," she said, returning the grin.

He sighed. "Come on then," he said, standing up and holding his hand out for her.

Rose just looked at it. "Where we going?"

"To dance."

She beamed again and took his hand.

Just as they got on the dance floor, the song changed to something a lot slower. The Doctor looked suddenly awkward, but put his arms around Rose nevertheless. She snuggled into his embrace, her head resting against his shoulder. They swayed in time to the music for a moment, before the Doctor felt Rose begin to tremble against him. He gently took hold of her chin and brought her face up to look at his.

"Rose…"

"I'm okay," she sniffed.

He frowned. "You're not though, are you?"

She sighed. "He just scared me a bit, that's all."

"We should go."

"No! No. Just… just dance with me. Please."

He nodded, his arms pulling her close again.

"Doe it urt?" Rose mumbled into his shoulder.

"Pardon?"

Rose looked up at him again. "Does it hurt?"

He smiled at her. "It did, but not anymore."

She reached up and gently traced her fingers across his lip where the cut was. He shivered under her touch, and he hoped she hadn't noticed. Rose's eyes watered again.

"He hurt you because of me."

"No," the Doctor replied firmly. "Don't you ever think that. The man's an animal. Men like that don't need encouragement to go after what they want; they just take it." He took hold of her hand and pulled it away from his face, placing a small kiss against her palm. His eyes got caught up in hers, and he felt his breath catch. She smiled gently at him and rested her forehead against his.

"This is nice," she whispered.

"Yeah," he agreed, one hand round her waist whilst the other was brought up to gently stroke her cheek, wiping away the trails left behind by her tears. "You still look lovely," he complimented. Her cheeks reddened slightly. "Especially when you blush," he smiled.

Without thinking, Rose pressed her lips as gently as she could against the slightly swollen part of the Doctor's lip. When she pulled away, he was smiling sweetly at her. She blushed again. "Sorry," she said quickly. "Just thought…"

"You'd kiss it better?" the Doctor said helpfully.

Rose said nothing and averted her gaze from his.

"Rose," he said, his voice rather low and husky. "I don't think it worked. Could you try again?" He rubbed his thumb over Rose's cheek and she looked back at him, checking his eyes to see if he actually meant it.

"Okay," she said quietly. Nervously, she leant in and kissed him again, exactly the same as she had before. However, when she went to pull away the Doctor was prepared. He brushed his lips lightly over hers, pulling her back to him. She melted almost instantly, and the Doctor tightened his grip on her waist to steady her.

"Rose," he murmured against her mouth, and she parted her lips. He kissed her gently, sweetly, caressing her lips almost timidly. He noticed that Rose was being careful to avoid his wound so as not to hurt him, and he silently thanked her for being so thoughtful. He pulled away from her, smiling at she whimpered slightly at the loss of contact. He ran the backs of his fingers across her cheeks.

"I have a confession to make," he said softly, making Rose worry slightly that he was going to say that he hadn't meant to do that at all.

"What is it?" she said, dreading the answer.

He swallowed visibly. "I…" he trailed of, and she saw that he was thinking furiously.

"Doctor?" she asked again, slightly scared of the sound of her own voice. But she had to know. Was he about to reject her?

He shook his head and then continued. "Rose Tyler," he smiled. "You have no idea what you do to me."

Rose looked at him, confusion spread all over her face. "Okay…"

He locked his gaze onto hers, his wide eyes and the intensity she saw there startling her.

"Doctor, what is it?"

"I…" he took a deep breath. It was now or never. "I love you."

Rose blinked at him in surprise, her eyes welling. "What did you just say?"

He looked at her fondly. "I said I love you."

"You love me?"

"Yes."

"_Me?_"

The Doctor chuckled slightly at the look on her face. "Yep."

"Oh, that's good," she said, trying her hardest to remember how to breath.

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "Why's that then?"

She smiled at the hopeful look on his face; she couldn't help it. "Because I love you too."

He visibly relaxed. "Oh, that's good," he said, making Rose laugh. "Does that mean I can kiss you again?"

Rose nodded at him, and he leant towards her and pressed his lips to hers more firmly this time. He ran his tongue along Rose's bottom lip, making her shiver slightly. She allowed him access, his tongue gently duelling with hers as she sank further into him, completely oblivious to everyone around them. The passion between them increased, and the Doctor hesitantly pulled away, not wanting their moment to become a floor show for everyone. "Ready to go now?" he said, running his hands up and down her arms.

Rose stared up at him, her face glowing. "Okay."

The Doctor grinned and took her hand, guiding her back towards their table.

Little did they know that a very happy Jackie had witnessed the whole thing, and she winked at the Doctor as he reached the table with Rose, making his cheeks grow slightly hot.

"We're gonna head off mum," Rose said, a dreamy look on her face.

"All right then, sweetheart. We're going to stay on for a bit." She kissed her daughter goodnight and then gave the Doctor a hug as Rose was saying goodbye to Darren. "Told you so," she whispered knowingly. The Doctor gave her a secret smile, and then turned to Darren.

"Night, Darren," he said, shaking his hand.

"Pleasure meeting you, John. Hope to see you again soon."

"Well, I thought maybe, if you're still around tomorrow, we could all go out for lunch?" Jackie said, hopefully.

"Of course," the Doctor nodded. "See you then." He took Rose's hand as she said a final farewell to her mum, then guided her out of the building and into the cold night air. Rose shuddered as the cold hit her, and the Doctor wrapped his cloak around her again.

"Such a gentleman," she said, her tongue between her teeth as she smiled. He loved that.

The Doctor leant down and pecked her on the lips before they disappeared into the night together, both deliriously happy.


End file.
